[naskies (Dave)]

Originally Posted by rogerg

We use the Canon 100mm f/2.8. I can't fault it, but haven't used an L macro lens.

I've owned and used both the standard and L variant of the Canon 100 mm macro. They're both excellent; the L appears to be slightly sharper but not by much - I only noticed the difference when someone else pointed it out and I looked closely at test charts etc.

Originally Posted by LewisM

Thanks Roger. My issue is I went cheapie on my tubes, so no electronic control at all. May try one of the wired tubes and see how it goes before plonking down the cash on a true macro.

I currently use the 28-135 on the tubes for my macro work in the research labs.

You'd probably want aperture control at least - easier for framing. Autofocus isn't very useful at macro distances.

Originally Posted by Dennis

If you will shoot with flash which can be set to provide the dominant light source, thus overwhelming daylight (3 to 4 stops under exposed), then your shutter speed effectively become the flash duration which usually is a minimum of 1/1000 sec.

Even better, electronic flashes have output durations proportional to power output... so a Canon 580EX on 1/128 power has a duration of only 1/35,000 sec. The guys who shoot hummingbirds up close often use a huge number (e.g. up to 16 or more) of flashguns at minimum power to get razor sharp images in flight.

This usually means that Image Stabilisation is not required.

Furthermore, Canon's 100 mm "L" macro the IS is barely effective (1-2 stops, compared to 4-5 for longer subject distances) due to the very close working distances.